Printing device



Jan. 14, 1930. I A, MARSHALL 1,743,468

PRINTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 1927 Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITE PRINTIHG DEVICE Application filed December 9, 1927. Serial No. 238,740.

This invention relates to printing devices of the kind applicable as an attachment to means for holding a roll of paper, and for automatic printing operations upon such roll. It has a relation also to small manually operated printers.

The chief objects of these improvements'are to provide a device of the kind mentioned according to which more uniform printing effects may be obtained, and whereby certain advantages in use may be had through the ready applicability and removability of the several rollers employed. It is an object to provide such advantages in a device of strong,

1 durable and simple construction. It is also an object to provide a device of this kind which may conveniently be used as a manual ly-operated printer for applying notices, advertising matter, etc. upon sheets or cards such as posters, blotters, etc. Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective of the device complete; Fig. 2

shows in side elevation the device applied in the normal way to a bracket or standard carrying a roll of paper, for example wrapping paper for use in a store; Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the device with part of the clamp broken away; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the main body portion as on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a perspective of the spring shown in Fig.3.

The device illustrated comprises a sheetmetal shell or housing having a top wall 10 l with a normally upwardly convex part 11 to accommodate the printing roller, side walls 12, a rear end wall 13 and a front end wall 14, this rectangular frame or housing being open at the bottom throughout its entire extent.

laterally-directed part 15 and 16 respectively, with a headed screw 17 in the slot 15 and a similar screw 18 in the slot .16. The slots 15 and 16 are duplicated in exact form in the opposite side wall 12 and on both sides these slots and the screws mentioned are given the same reference characters respectively. The

oppositely-disposed slots, for example slots 15, may be considered a pair of such slots.

Figs. 3 and 4 show that these screws 17 and 18 enter axially the inking rollers 19 and 20.

respectively. These rollers are thus provided with end shafts or extending shafts. The inking rollers may be considered to be wooden cylinders covered with soft fabric adapted to hold ink. From Fig. 1 it is clear that these two inking rollers may be readily positioned in the frame by inserting their respective bearing members or shafts 17 and 18 into the respective slots illustrated and described.

The printing roller 21 may also be considered to be a wooden cylinder, but it is covered with a soft rubber printing element 22 having printing characters thereon. The

rubber element 22 is shown as being held by nails 23 upon the wooden cylinder 21. Headed screws 24 enter the roller 21 axially-and form bearing members or end shafts'for it. Fig. 1 shows an inwardly-directed slot 25 accommodating the screw 24 and Fig. 4shows the same construction at the opposite side of the frame, in the same location, and as similarly accommodating the opposite bearing member 24.

Figs. 3 and 4 show av U-shaped holding.

member comprising a cross part 28 and side parts or arms 29, this member being formed of strip metal. Fig. 4 shows how the free ends of the arms 29 are reduced to form tongue-like extensions 30, and these extensions pass behind metal parts 31 pressed out of the side walls 12 respectively. Fig. 4 shows also that the arms 29 have recesses 32 and 33 therein which are relatively wide so as to provide free space on opposite sides of the shafts 24 and 18 respectively and deep enough to provide a part at 34 and 35 respectively normally underlying the shafts 24 and 18 respectively and adapted to hold these shafts and therefore the rollers in place. Fig. 4 also shows a recess 35 accommodating the shaft 17 of the roller 19, but it is to be noted that this recess 35 is more narrow and, importantly, that it has an edge or abutment at 36 bearing against the shaft 17.

Fig. 3 shows the spring 37 of Fig. 5 as being riveted at 8to the end wall 13 and as having a. part9 pressing against the end or cross part 28 of the roller holding means.

' The spring 37 has a small projection 4 pressed 7 outwardly therefrom and the cross part 28 has anaccommodating opening for it so that thespring will hold one end of the U-shaped V holder in its normal position. The spring 37 has a free endpart' 37 which may be pressed against" by the finger toretract'the spring out of holding engagement with the part 28 of the U-shaped member.

from the frame.

Turning again to Fig.4 it is clear that on removing the U-shaped member the several rollers may easily be lifted out of and away It will be noted that when the rollers are normally assembled the shafts 17 and 18 of the inking rollers are within the g horizontally directed extensions 15 and 16 respectively but have not reached the inner ends thereof. While in such position the U-shapedmember may have its ends passed into the holding or retaining means at 31 and itsthen'free end lowered so that the notches 32, 33- and; 35 respectively encompass the roller shafts 24,18 and 17, and, when the spring 37 is snapped into engagement with t e end member 28 (Fig, 3) the U-sha'ped holding member is not only held against dislacing movements but it is forced forward. his forward .movement of the U-shaped v member causes the edge 36 of the recess 35 to 7 force the: shaft 17 7 forward, or, stated other- 8 wise, the spring 37 forces the roller 19 int-o engagement with the roller 20, and the pressurefis communicated thence against the roll- 7 J er 2122. The relatively wide slot 33 perinitsthe roller 20 to move forward while the narrow slot 25 in the side wall 12 holds the roller 21-22 in its fixed relative bodily position. I

-Whenit is desired to remove the rollers the device is turned upside down from its position shown in Fig. 1 or intoits position shown in Fig. 4,the spring'37 isreleased and the U:-shaped holding member simply swung upward at its rear end until it is free of the respec tive shafts on both. sides and is then r the catches 31.

withdrawn out of holding engagement with Thereuponthe respective V rollers may'simply be'taken out of their respective slots in the side Walls, and this may bedone by graspingthe heads of thescrews forming theshafts and without soiling the operators hands- Heretofore, sofar asI am aware, for removing the rollers of such devices. it has been necessary to remove the screws forming the shafts.

An important advantage in this construction arises from the fact. that thes ring pressure is communicated equally or su stantially equally throughout the contacting surfaces of the rollers adjacent toeachother since the spring exerts its pressure midway between the side arms 29 and carries forward equally 7 both shafts 17 of the roller 19. A serious objection in the past has been that the ink has not been evenly distributed from roller to roller and, importantly, to the printing roller, so that the impression on the paper or other article was not. uniform. That objection is well'overcome by the present construction.

Fig.2 shows the device clamped upon a standard conventionally shown. The clamp is a U-shaped member 38 with a thumb screw 39. On its inner wall 40 there is secured, as by welding, the part 41 of a spring hinge, while on the inner wall 13 there is similarly secured the otherleaf 42 of the hinge, there being a coil spring 43 surrounding the hinge pin and arranged to force the printing roller against the outer layer of the paper roll 44 when positioned as in- Fig. 2. I Such; a hinge 1s well known and as is in allmaterial respects the'same as may be found on doors and inmany other locations, and it is not new. to -provide a clamp such as 38 and connected to it such a spring hinge unit as 41.42 in a deviceof this class. I believe it tobe novel in this connection, however, to provide means for holding the clamp as 38 so as to extend substantially in straight-away directions from'orin align- I ment with the body of the printer, these means comprising an extension 45 of the" hinge bracket 42 having a hole 46 therein accommodating a ring formed in the hook member 47, the hinge bracket 41 having, a similar extension 48 with a hole 49 therein to receive the hook 50 at the end of the hook member 47 When the clamp isv thus held substantially in lines with the body, as in Fig. 1, the clamp 38 forms a handle for operating the device manually wherebythe printing roller may be caused to pass over small sheets or cards lying on a table for producing 53 in the usual way, and while the paper is passing beneath. the printing roller that roller is caused to turn on its axis and ink being 7 constantly supplied by the adjacent printing roller 20, an impression s made directly upon, the sheet and this impression is repeated as often as the printing roller is given a complete revolution. The, impression may be such that'the article wrapped in such wrapping paper then contains the advertisement of the store keeper. 7 V

I contemplate as being included in these improvements all such changes, departures and variations from what is thus specifically illustrated and described as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a printing device of the character described, the combination of a frame having side members, means for holding the frame operatively in association with a roll of paper, a plurality of rollers each having oppositely-directed end shafts, the rollers respectively being mounted side by side in oppositely-disposed pairs of slots in the side members, and means for holding said shafts readily releasably in said slots, said holding means including a substantially U-shaped member having the free ends of its arms releasably held and with a spring exerting pressure substantially midway between its arms, the arms of said U-shaped member being formed to press against the end shafts respectively of one of the rollers whereby spring pressure is communicated to one of the rollers, said one of the rollers being mounted in slots formed to provide for bodily movement of the roller in the direction of the adjacent roller.

2. In a printing device of the character described the combination of a frame, means for holding the frame operatively in association with a roll of paper, an inking roller and a printing roller, each having shafts, mounted in the frame, one of said rollers being mounted for bodily movement away from and toward the other thereof, the frame having slot-like openings in which the roller shafts respectively are positioned for ready removability of the rollers, means for holding the rollers readily releasably, said means including a member extending longitudinally along each side of the frame and having slots therein registering with and directed oppositely to those in the frame respectively, the shafts of the rollers respectively extending through slots of the frame and of said holding member.

3. The combination of a substantially rectangular frame having a top wall, side and end walls, a printing roller and a pair of inking rollers between the side walls of the frame, the side walls having a plurality of pairs of slots and each roller having end shafts, the shafts of each roller being insertable in a pair of said slots, the slots for the inking rollers being substantially L-shaped to provide for movement of the inking rollers toward the printing roller, and means including a holding member extending longitudinally of the frame and overlying the roller shafts at said frame slots and being mounted for ready removability for holding the shafts readily releasably in the pairs'of slots respectively, said holding member having recesses for the shafts and the shafts extending through said recesses, and a spring holding said holding member in holding position.

4. In a printing device of the character clescribed, the combination of a frame having side members, means for holding the frame operatively in association with a roll of paper, a plurality of rollers having extending shafts respectively, one of said rollers being a rinting roller, said rollers belng mounteclside by side in slots in the side members and for ready removability therefrom, and a readily-releasable unitary holding frame having members extending longitudinally of the side members of the frame respectively for holding said rollers in their respective operative positions.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a frame, means for holding the frame operatively in association with a roll of paper, a plurality of rollers, each having a shaft at each end thereof, one of said rollers being a printing roller, said shafts being mounted in the frame, the frame having slots for the shafts respectively to provide for the ready removability of the rollers from the frame, one of said rollers being mounted for bodily movements toward and away from the roller adjacent thereto,'a substantially U- shaped holding member readily releasably carried at its free ends by the frame, said holding member overlying said shafts and holding them in the slots respectively, and being adapted to communicate spring pressure to one of said rollers to force it toward the other thereof, and springs means for maintaining said holding member in operative position and with two of the rollers yieldingly in contact with each other.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a frame having a printing roller and an inking roller mounted therein, a clamp for holding the frame operatively in association with a roll of paper, said clamp having a substantially narrow free end portion adapted to constitute a handle to be held in the operators hand, a spring hinge connecting the clamp with the frame to provide pressure by the printing roller upon the paper roll, and means for readily releasably holding the frame so as to extend substantially in line with the frame against the tension of the spring hinge connection whereby the printing roller is out of contact with the paper roll when use of the devicewith such 

